Krema vanilia - traditional vanilla pudding

Vanilla cream is one of those archetypical and international recipes people have followed since they discovered that by combining milk with egg and flour; you can make a very nutritious and hearty food. In international pastry circles, this cream is called a ‘’pudding’’ and it is also used as a filling for pastries; when in Greece we call it ’krema” and, dusted with cinnamon, it can be found both in  super markets and traditional milk shops.
 Vanilla cream reminds me of my childhood probably because I ate so many bowls of it back then. It’s been a long time since I last had some, and now that the weather is a bit chilly, I thought it would be a good idea to revive these post-school afternoon vanilla creams. 

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Traditional vanilla cream
Serves 4 or 2 hungry ones

500gr whole milk
80gr granulated sugar
vanilla flavor
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1-2 large egg yolks
1/3 teaspoon ground cinnamon


In a saucepan, bring the milk with half of the sugar to a boil over medium heat. Remove from the heat.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolk, the cornstarch, and the remaining sugar. Slowly pour, two tablespoons at a time, of the hot milk mixture, whisking constantly, into the egg yolk mixture until you have added about half of the hot milk. Then pour this new milk/egg mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining hot milk and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture comes to a full boil. Continue cooking until the mixture thickens (about 2 minutes).
Pour the mixture through a wire sieve into small ramekins or other bowls of your choice. Serve warm or cold, dusted with ground cinnamon.